The Kangaroo Industry Its Image and Market Improving One by Improving the Other
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The Kangaroo Industry Its image and market Improving one by improving the other A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation by John Kelly March 2003 RIRDC Publication No 02/166 RIRDC Project No LEC-1A © 2003 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. All rights reserved. ISBN 0 642 58565 2 ISSN 1440-6845 The Kangaroo Industry – Its image and market Publication No. 02/166 Project No. LEC-1A. The views expressed and the conclusions reached in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of persons consulted. RIRDC shall not be responsible in any way whatsoever to any person who relies in whole or in part on the contents of this report. This publication is copyright. However, RIRDC encourages wide dissemination of its research, providing the Corporation is clearly acknowledged. For any other enquiries concerning reproduction, contact the Publications Manager on phone 02 6272 3186. Researcher Contact Details John Kelly Lenah Consultancy PO Box 294 MOWBRAY, 7248 (03) 6326 7696 (03) 6326 2790 [email protected] In submitting this report, the researcher has agreed to RIRDC publishing this material in its edited form. RIRDC Contact Details Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Level 1, AMA House 42 Macquarie Street BARTON ACT 2600 PO Box 4776 KINGSTON ACT 2604 Phone: 02 6272 4539 Fax: 02 6272 5877 Email: [email protected]. Website: http://www.rirdc.gov.au Published in March 2003 Printed on environmentally friendly paper by Canprint ii Foreword The kangaroo industry has always had a PR problem. It harvests an icon species and doing so presents an emotional challenge for many people opposed to killing animals in general. There is a vocal minority who vigorously oppose the industry and take every opportunity to attack it in domestic and international press, and in its market place. In addition the Australian community, especially the urban community, hold a Eurocentric notion of food. For many ‘food’ is product which Europeans eat - beef, lamb, pasta, truffles etc. Eating the native products of this land, especially its wildlife, presents a paradigm challenge. Finally for most people in Sydney, Melbourne, New York or London ALL wildlife is endangered. For many the concept of harvesting wildlife does not fit into their concept of ‘conservation’, never mind that the commercially harvested species of kangaroos had an estimate 2002 population of 56.8 million and controlling their number is an environmental necessity. Thus there is an ongoing need for continued positive image development of the kangaroo industry to enable it to continue its strong growth. This project was funded from RIRDC Core Funds which are provided by the Federal Government and kangaroo industry contributions to RIRDC. This report, a new addition to RIRDC’s diverse range of over 900 research publications, forms part of our emerging animal industries R&D program, which aims to accelerate the development of viable new animal industries. Most of our publications are available for viewing, downloading or purchasing online through our website: downloads at www.rirdc.gov.au purchases at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop Simon Hearn Managing Director Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation iii Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................................. iii Executive Summary .................................................................................................................v 1. Introduction...........................................................................................................................1 2. Methodology.........................................................................................................................2 3. Results .................................................................................................................................3 4. Discussion............................................................................................................................5 5. Recommendations ...............................................................................................................6 Appendix 1 ...............................................................................................................................7 Major resource material generated to help defend the kangaroo industry against radical attack ....................................................................................................................................7 Appendix 2 .............................................................................................................................30 Paper given at International Symposium of Veterinary Conservation Biology....................30 iv Executive Summary The kangaroo industry is one of the few industries in the country which spends the bulk of its promotional budget on simply defending what it does, rather than promoting product. The industry comes under regular and heated attack from radical vegetarians preying on the fact that it utilises iconic wildlife. Thus the industry has an ongoing and strong need to improve its image in the general public and defend itself against such attacks. This project focused on: 1) Generating positive media coverage on the kangaroo industry 2) Informing the Australian government and environmental academic community of the responsible and ethical nature of the kangaroo industry. 3) Facilitating incorporation of kangaroo industry information into environmental management curricula in Australian tertiary training. The project generated in excess of one piece of positive mainstream media coverage on the kangaroo industry for every week of its duration. Considerable efforts were also devoted towards defending the industry in several campaigns mounted by radical anti kangaroo industry groups during the project’s duration. It also produced 12 industry newsletters giving extensive information on the sustainable and responsible nature of the industry to the government and academic community. In addition the resources the project generated have encouraged considerable use in tertiary training of the kangaroo industry as a model of sustainable wildlife utilisation. It appears that during the course of the project, public and government support for the kangaroo industry within Australia has improved considerably. Evidence is available that this has assisted domestic kangaroo meat market development. The kangaroo industry should ensure that there are ongoing resources to promote the industry as environmentally sustainable, responsible and wise. v 1. Introduction The kangaroo industry is one of the few industries in the country which is forced to spend the vast bulk of its promotional budget simply defending what it does, rather than marketing product. It harvests an icon species and in doing so attracts strong attention from radical vegetarians who prey on the easily encouraged view that the kangaroo industry threatens the species with extinction and is cruel. This message is readily lapped up by a media hungry for sensationalist copy. The strength and of the anti kangaroo industry lobby and the vitriol they pitch at the industry can be readily gauged by a short visit to www.savethekangaroo.com, a website of the group Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (Viva), one of the more active anti kangaroo industry lobby groups. Thus there is an ongoing need for continued positive image development of the kangaroo industry to enable it to continue its strong growth. This project was designed to deliver pro-active ongoing kangaroo industry PR. It ensured the ongoing development activities of the Kangaroo Industries Association of Australia (KIAA) generated positive press, and that a positive industry image was enhanced in government and academic circles. In particular the project was designed to harness the increasing acceptance of wildlife utilisation amongst the Australian wildlife management community to assist acceptance of the kangaroo industry by the Australian public. The kangaroo industry is increasing seen as a vital environmental management tool in the arid rangelands. Whilst the sustainability of pastoral activities in much of the Australian arid rangelands is under constant investigation, the fact remains that they are currently supporting a large population of kangaroos which, if uncontrolled, would seriously threaten the economic viability of the pastoral industry and the environmental sustainability of huge tracks of land. These are extremely fragile areas which can support a limited number of grazing animals. Allowing the grazing pressure from all animals to increase is one of the most serious environmental hazards in the rangelands. The kangaroo industry is the only tool currently available to exercise control over the kangaroo contribution to grazing pressure. Furthermore, the kangaroo population represents a resource. There is extensive ethical debate concerning the morality of utilising wildlife as a resource. This debate however, rarely examines the moral imperative for nations to utilise their resources to the best effect in supplying the world with the food and commodities it needs. Over the past 30 years a significant industry has developed which utilises the kangaroo resource. Initially its focus was largely on pest control for the pastoral industries. However over the last decade there has been a growing realisation that the kangaroo industry